Frightened to Feel Human

[The image above, taken from today's New York Times, is of a suspect in last week's bomb attacks in London, caught on video as he entered the Tube carrying a backpack.]


I KEEP THINKING about the suspected suicide bombers' parents, and I am frightened by my feelings for the pain they must be going through.

Or maybe frightened is the wrong word. Confused?

It's confusing to think that several families over in the suburbs in England are gnashing their teeth trying to figure out where they went wrong. Not only have they lost their sons -- is it trite to bring up the "losing a child is the worst loss" truism? -- they also must review what led up to the loss. They must consider whether or not they had anything to do with directing their sons toward their alleged brutal acts.

If I were one of those parents, I would still be waiting for my son to show up at the front door and say, "You won't believe how lost I got last Wednesday night."

I would go on waiting for a long time. Better that than other options.

And that pain is connected to the fear/confusion I'm feeling when I realize I have empathy for those parents. Are the parents of my enemies my enemies?

I do not, for instance, consider George H. W. Bush my enemy (nor his son, to be fully honest; a person who is making a lot of dumb mistakes is not necessarily my enemy).

I do not consider Karl Rove's parents my enemies (how do you suppose they feel about all this?).

But I do empathize with these British boys' parents.

____====____

Am I a traitor?
_____====_____

Let's chew the fat. Let me know what you know. And vice versa.

_____====______

Rove Update: Toast
(see archive for previous comments on the Rover)